THE traditional days of Girl Guides and Boy Scouts are long gone.

More girls than ever are signing up for East Lancashire’s Scout groups — and across the country they even outnumbered the boys in 2010-11, according to The Scout Association’s latest census.

Nationally, 4,330 girls joined during the past year, compared to 3,796 boys.

And since 2001, female youth membership in East Lancashire has risen 148 per cent, up from 124 to 308.

While Scouting has been open to females aged 15 and over since 1976, there has been an 88 per cent boom in total female youth membership in recent years.

Student Alaina Norris, 21, joined as an Explorer Scout eight years ago and, having risen through the youth leader ranks, she has helped launch a new unit in which she now leads.

There are 31 members of the Whalley-based unit, 10 of whom are girls, with more on the waiting list because they’re too young to join.

“It really is great to have such as mix, especially as there’s a strong Guiding movement in the Whalley and Clitheroe area too,” Alaina said.

“I’d done Guides and Brownies before joining, but as I grew up I felt I needed a different kind of challenge.

"I wanted a new group of friends and a new adventure.”

Since joining, Alaina’s travelled to Poland, Iceland and Holland with the Scouts, and her experience working with young people has set her on the path to becoming a teaching assistant, studying childcare and education at Accrington and Rossendale College.

“It is fantastic to be a leader and the unit has been more successful than we ever thought it would be,” she said.

“I had started off trying to do music, but it was getting nowhere and I realised through all the Scouting stuff that I do have a rapport with young people and the ability to work with them so it made sense to choose that career path.”

Part of the attraction of Scouting for girls is the variety of activities on offer, from abseiling to zorbing.

The local camp at Great Harwood even has a high ropes course on site, and members regularly complete Duke Of Edinburgh Awards.

Georgina Lister, 14, from Whalley, joined the Scouts after hearing good things from friends.

She said: “I have loved every minute of it. I’ve had the opportunity to do all sorts of fun things.

“In our Explorer unit we are all like one big family; it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or boy, we all get along.

"I made some great friends on my DofE expedition, where I was the only girl in the group.

"The boys just treated me like one of them so it didn’t feel awkward at all.”

Natalie Driver, 16, from Burnley, added: “Since I joined Explorers I have made lots of good friends.

“I enjoy the social side of scouting, as well as activities I can’t do anywhere else, like fire lighting.

"I really like the summer activities because we get to spend more time outside having fun.”

And Rachel Paiton, 15, also from Burnley, wanted to keep up with her family’s activities: “I have seen my family go through Scouts and all the adventures they have had sounded exciting.

"I wanted to have that opportunity to go on adventures myself.”

With a 163-person waiting list across Lancashire, new leaders are in constant demand.

Donna Emmett, a Scout Leader from Blackburn, said: “Being a Scout Leader is one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done.

"It’s great helping young people in our local area get the most out of life and watching them develop week in-week out.”

Chief Scout and TV adventurer Bear Grylls welcomes the growth in popularity, and said: “It’s great to see that more and more girls are signing up to Scouting and that the movement is continuing to grow as a whole.

“Being a Scout represents all that is great about life: Adventure, life skills and friendship — and it is no surprise that so many girls are wanting to be part of that."